Sun Sept 11, 7:30 pm
St. John's Church, Lunenburg
Wolak & Donnelly
Kornel Wolak clarinet & Chris Donnelly piano
A collaboration with Debut Atlantic
A St Cecilia by-the-Sea concert
Program
Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Flight of the Bumblebee
Brahms (1833-1897)
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 1 in F-Minor
Yadzinski (1940- )
'A Paganini'
Donnelly (1983- )
Henry's Song and Dance
Mozart (1756-1791)
Adagio from Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622
Antonio de Abreu (1880-1935)
Tico-Tico no Fubá
Gershwin (1898-1937)
Rhapsody in Blue
Porgy and Bess Medley
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Allegro from Violin Sonata No. 3 for clarinet solo
Peterson (1925-2007)
Hymn to Freedom, piano solo
Rossini (1792-1868)
Introduction, Theme and Variations
Chris Donnelly
Chris Donnelly represents a new generation of jazz pianists, composers and improvisers dedicated to creating programs that are engaging, entertaining and educating. He is continually praised for his virtuosic performances, musicality, versatility and ability to captivate audiences.
In September 2008, Chris released his Juno-nominated, debut album with Alma Records called Solo, featuring a blend of original material and arrangements of jazz standards. This also earned him nominations for 'Best Recording of the Year' and 'Best Keyboardist of the Year' from the 2009 National Jazz Awards.
Other recent highlights include a tour of Western Canada in October 2008, performances at the Calgary and Medicine Hat Jazz Festivals and performances in various concert halls throughout Toronto including Roy Thomson Hall, CBC's Glenn Gould Studio, MacMillian Theatre, Walter Hall and the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
In April 2007, Chris performed at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville Florida where he received 2nd place as part of the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. More recently, Chris performed in Nottingham, England where he was selected as one of four finalists in the 2008 Nottingham National Jazz Piano Competition.
Chris Donnelly holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Toronto where he studied with David Braid, Gary Williamson, Paul Read, Kirk MacDonald, Alexander Rapoport and Russell Hartenberger. Upon completing his Masters of Music in Jazz Performance at the University of Toronto, Chris was awarded The Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award for students 'deemed to have the greatest potential to make an important contribution to the field of music.'
In 2008, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded Chris with a grant to compose new music based on the works of graphic artist M.C Escher. With its completion, this project, entitled Metamorphosis. This followed his debut recording and was released in 2010.
Chris is grateful for the continuing support from the Canada Council. Chris is currently a professor at the University of Toronto and has previously worked as a faculty member at the Humber College Community Music School, Prairielands Jazz Camp and the National Music Camp of Canada.
Kornel Wolak
Highly praised on two continents for his glorious tone, precise technical control and musical imagination, Kornel Wolak is well on his way to a major career as a soloist and chamber musician in both classical and cross-over repertoire. Critics have hailed him for his playing that showed "admirable calm and patience in shaping beautiful sonorities… full of energy." (Andrzej Chylewski, Glos Wielkopolski)
As a member of the renowned Quartetto Gelato from 2007 to 2009, Wolak performed on its 2009 recording, Musica Latina. He also appears as soloist on a 2007 CD of Karol Kurpinski's Clarinet Concerto, released by Channel II of Polish Radio – a CD that was nominated for Poland's highest recording award, the 'Fryderyk'.
Kornel Wolak's artistry has been admired by audiences at over 90 concerts in North America alone. As a soloist, he has performed with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonietta, Poland's Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra's opening 60th season gala concert, the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra, and Charleston (North Carolina) Symphony Orchestra, amongst others.
As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Wieniawski String Quartet, the Glenn Gould String Quartet, and the Lodos Wind Quintet. Intent on increasing the clarinet repertoire, Wolak has performed the Canadian premiere of John Adams' 'Gnarly Buttons' Clarinet Concerto, broadcast on CBC Radio 2, and Marc Neikrug's 'Through Roses' at the Glenn Gould Studio.
Also devoted to music education, Wolak established Music Mind Canada (MMC), an initiative that designs, promotes, and produces educational programs for schools, local communities, and other groups interested in learning about music. The Wloclawek Tribute noted that "Mr. Wolak’s natural way of connecting with the audience made his educational series of recitals entitled From B(ach) to Z(emlinsky) an unexpected learning through the art experience for everyone…."
Mr. Wolak won the Royal Conservatory's Concerto Competition in 2006, the Glenn Gould School's 2005 Concerto Competition and the Presser Music Award from the Presser Foundation. As a student, he won first prize in the Poznan Clarinet Wind Instruments Competition, the Polish All-Wind Instruments Competition, and the Indiana University Clarinet Department Competition.
Born in Bialystok, Poland in 1979 into a musical family (his father was a trumpeter and his mother a violist), Wolak began piano lessons at six, and took up the clarinet six years later. He was a scholarship student at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he earned his performance certificate and, two years later, his Master of Music degree while studying with Eli Eban.